Hermosa: No lease with fair board

Chronicle Staff

Published: Tuesday, November 25th, 2008

As far as the Town of Hermosa is concerned, it no longer has a contract with the county fair board for the operation of the Custer County Fairgrounds. That was the message delivered by Town of Hermosa attorney Kent Hagg to the Custer County Commission at its regular meeting Nov. 26. Hagg said the Town of Hermosa would like to move forward with the proposed swap of the fairgrounds property, which Hermosa currently owns, for the county building in Hermosa, which the county currently owns. The two sides have been planning to trade the pieces of property for some time, and even have a contract drawn up for the swap, even though the county has yet to sign it. The idea is for the county to own and operate the fairgrounds, with the idea that having the fairgrounds under one umbrella would streamline things and make insurance for the fairgrounds cheaper. The swap has been stuck in neutral for quite some time, however, due to the fact that the fair board maintains it has a lease with the Town of Hermosa to run the fairgrounds. A while ago, the fair board signed a 99-year lease to operate the fairgrounds, which the town has since rescinded. Among the reasons the town rescinded the lease were that it was entered into without legal counsel, and a variety of the terms were not satisfactory to the town. Because of that, the town believes the lease is not legally enforceable. However, because the rescission of the lease was unilateral, the fair board is standing by the lease, saying it is a legal and valid lease. “That relationship (with the fair board) does not exist, as far as we are concerned,” Hagg said. Hagg said in an effort to get the county to move forward with the swap, the Town of Hermosa voted at its last meeting to hold the county harmless and indemnify the county should any suit be brought by the fair board regarding the lease. Hagg said Hermosa would pay any legal fees and or damages that may come from any suit. “The city is in favor of this exchange. It makes sense and is good for both parties,” Hagg said. “We want to get this off the dime and consummate this contract.” Assistant county attorney Deech Koch said a lawsuit may very well stem from the impasse, and suggested the Town of Hermosa get a ruling on whether or not the recision was legal. “It’s very clear in talking to members of the fair board they firmly believe they have a lease,” Koch said. Hagg said he felt another issue with the lease is that the fair board has not adequately kept the county fair “viable” and “vibrant.” He described the fair board holding up the land swap as “the tail wagging the dog.” The commission has an upcoming meeting with the fair board, and opted to wait until it meets with the board to try to come to a mutual agreement with all parties. The issue will be addressed again at the Dec. 10 meeting of the commission. The commission also heard from county emergency management director Mike Carter, who said there is no more hangar development space left at the Custer County airport. Much of the land surrounding the airport cannot be developed because it is either Forest Service land, has access issues or other problems that encumber development. There is some land that could be developed, but would require a great deal of fill to bring it up to the level required. Some private land around the airport could also be purchased in the future. Commissioner Leonard Wood asked if the airport is making money, and to what extent the city is helping fund all the improvements being made there. Carter said the airport is not yet making money, and the city’s financial support is minimal at this time. “So why are we making it bigger and better,” Wood asked. McFarland said the airport is just one entity, along with the library, in which the county funds but the city gets the most benefits of.  He said the county should approach the city with the idea of helping more with both entities. Commissioner Marvin Bishop said the Custer airport is one of only two airports in the state operated by a county. County planner David Green cautioned the commission not to look at the airport only in terms of a bottom line, but also for the economic development it offers the county. Commissioner Don Gifford agreed. “I think it would be awfully short sighted of us to back away from that airport,” he said. Finally, county highway superintendent John Culberson gave the commission an update, saying he has been trying to work with Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E) Railroad on fixing a railroad crossing in Buffalo Gap, but has had trouble getting ahold of them. Because of the nature of the work involved with working on and around a railroad crossing, a DM&E official must be on site whenever the county works near a crossing. “If we go out there without them, and something happens and a train comes off the track, Custer County is going to pay the bill,” he said.